The Pepper Mill

The last two weeks have been difficult, to say the very least, for Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman (left). Her ill-chosen on-air words earned her a two-week suspension and a world of negative attention (My Shot, page G16). I can certainly sympathize with Kelly given my off-air faux pas at the Solheim Cup last September, so I reached out to her last week. I believe her situation would not have turned out as badly as it did had she and Golf Channel responded faster (nearly 48 hours and four days, respectively), but I also told her that addressing the matter personally and taking responsibility for it--not hiding behind a prepared statement--would serve her best. Being available, sincere and honest helped me cope after my knuckleheaded comments and made the healing process faster and better for everyone. I hope Kelly follows my advice. I also hope people realize that if her suspension goes any further than two weeks, the punishment way exceeds the crime. A horrible word, absolutely. Bad line of conversation between Kelly and Nick Faldo, absolutely. Ill intent on anyone's part, absolutely not.

The players on all three U.S. tours face a daunting task every year: starting the season in Hawaii. Sounds crazy, but it's true. After what is usually a significant break for most players--sometimes more than two months--they're faced with strong, shifting winds, passing "pineapple" rain showers and difficult, grainy putting surfaces. Players take a lot of heat for not entering the season-opening events, but off-season work and the renewed confidence it brings are often undone by playing in heavy winds for two weeks. I never had a great year that started in Hawaii. I loved it when the LPGA began in Florida, and I could get some comfortable rounds under my belt before heading to the Islands. I'll be curious to hear Fred Funk's comments when he returns after playing four straight weeks of PGA and Champions tour events on the Islands. Hawaii is a gorgeous place, but sometimes your game comes back pretty ugly.

Dottie Pepper, a 17-year LPGA veteran and analyst for NBC and Golf Channel, welcomes letters at dottie@siletters.com.